West Indian Holiday Pasta Salad - Ensalada de Espirales Recipe

This West Indian Ensalada de Espirales Recipe dates back to when the
Spanish first began colonizing these islands. Along with Christianity they
also brought some of their traditions and simple salad recipes.

Over the years, certainly some have been adapted to more suit the climate and availability of ingredients.

Ensalada de Espirales means salad of spiral pasta, such as rotini, however, this simple pasta salad recipe can be made with any short pasta or with
the new coloured versions on the market. The coloured pastas would make
this into a nice holiday dish.

You could easily add some left-over meat or cubed sausage to make this Ensalada de Espirales into a complete meal.

Ensalada de Espirales - Pasta Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb (226 gr) rotini (or similar small pasta)

• 1/2 lb (226 gr) carrots - cooked & diced

• 1 cup (240 ml) corn kernels

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) mayonnaise

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) canned peas - drained

• 1 medium red onion - diced

• salt & pepper

• 3 Eggs - hard boiled

Method:

1. Boil the pasta according to package instructions just until tender. Drain and allow to cool.

2. Separately boil the carrots and the eggs.

3. Peel the carrots and dice them into tiny cubes.

4. Peel and dice the eggs into small cubes.

5. Drain the peas and add to the mixture.

6. Add the rest of the ingredients - mix well.

7. Taste Test your Ensalada de Espirales and adjust the salt and pepper to taste.

Yield: this recipe for Ensalada de Espirales serves 6 - 8

Note:

1. You can use canned carrots (drained) or you can use shredded carrots which don't require cooking.

2. Some people omit the eggs, since there is egg content in the mayonnaise.

3. Some people add 1 tbsp. (15 ml) vinegar or lemon juice with the mayonnaise to give it a slight tang.